The Cricut Maker is a powerful machine that can cut over 300 different materials, including wood! We’re going to dive into how to make wood ornaments with Cricut today.

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A cutting machine can be used for all sorts of craft projects. Simple straightforward crafts like making a paper card to cutting iron on for a custom t-shirt. The more you play with Cricut, the more options open up. This machine can cut so many materials which means your crafting possibilities are endless.

What Cricut Machine can cut wood?

Currently there are 3 types of cutting machines available from Cricut. The Joy, Explore and Maker series. The only machine that can cut wood is the Maker. Unbox the Maker 3 here and learn all about it.

The other 2 machines are great for lots of crafts, I own both, but the tools that can be used with them is limited.

Cricut explore Air 2 cutting — Cricut Explore Air 2

These machines have a clamp that allows you to swap out the standard fine point blade for a pen, scoring tool, or different type of cutting tool.

The Maker series offers the largest selection of tools which means it has the ability to cut the most materials. If you are looking to create a wide variety of projects the Maker 3 is your best bet.

Cricut maker 3 closed on desk — Cricut Maker 3

Cricut knife blade

The knife blade is the tool you need to cut wood with a Cricut Maker. This can be swapped out in clamp B on your machine and is big enough to cut through basswood and other thick materials.

The first time you use it you will have to calibrate the knife blade. Be sure to watch the video in this post to see all the steps. When you are ready to make your first cut you’ll select basswood material and Design Space will prompt you to calibrate the blade. Be sure to do this step before cutting your project.

Watch how to cut wood with a Cricut for a walk through of this whole process start to finish.

What kind of wood can Cricut cut?

A Cricut Maker with a knife blade can cut basswood and balsawood. These are thin and soft wood varieties that are ideal for craft projects. Both types can be found at craft stores or online and come in a wide variety of sizes and thicknesses.

This is a small section of the Cricut materials list that the Maker can cut.

Shop craft wood for your next project.

Look for wood that is 1/16″ or 1/32″ thick, any thicker and your machine will not be able to cut through it.

Now that you know the basics of cutting wood, let’s make something special for Christmas. These ornaments are cut from basswood and embellished with iron on vinyl. Keep in mind you can use this technique to embellish these ornaments any way you choose.

Try adding a name and year to each ornament. They also double as gift tags that can be hung on the tree after the present is opened.

How to make wood ornaments with Cricut

Yield: 4

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Cut wood with your Cricut Maker and create these custom ornaments.

Materials

1/16" basswood
Iron on vinyl in various colors
Twine
Craft paint

Tools

Cricut Maker 3
Cricut knife blade
Strong Grip Mat
Painters tape
Self healing cutting mat
Craft knife
Straight edge
EasyPress mini
Scissors
Weeding tool
Paint brush

Instructions

Cricut Design Space

Open this project in Cricut Design space.
Resize the ornaments if you'd like and ensure the cuts will fit on the wood.
Click Make it and select 'on mat' then connect the machine and select the material. 1/16" basswood.
Cricut will prompt to calibrate the knife blade, if this is the first cut with a knife blade do this step before proceeding.
Send the project to the Maker.

Prep the wood

Use a craft knife, straight edge and self healing mat to cut the basswood down to size.
Stick the wood to a strong grip mat and secure it on all side with painters tape.
On the Cricut machine, move the white star wheels all the way to the right.
Load the knife blade into clamp B.
Load the wood into the machine and cut the project.

Note: This will take some time, the knife blade needs to do a few passes to fully cut the wood. When the project is complete a dialog box will pop up asking if the cut is complete. Make sure it is before unloading the mat.

Add iron on to the ornaments

When the cut is complete, pull the ornaments off the mat. If there are any sharp or rough edges you may need to lightly sand them down.
Cut the remaining items in this Design Space project from iron on vinyl. Be sure to mirror the image and select iron on.
On the Maker swap the knife blade for the fine point blade and move the star wheels back into place.
When finished cutting, weed the designs.
Paint the wood ornaments with craft paint and let them dry.
Place an iron on design onto an ornament and use the EasyPress mini on low heat to adhere. Then pull the carrier sheet off. Repeat this step for each ornament.